BLOOD PAWN

Yuui's chest heaved with heavy breaths, her body struggling to recover from the previous attack. Her energy suit pulsed faintly around her, but she could feel the exhaustion creeping in, threatening to overwhelm her. The air was thick, stifling, as Winter hovered above, his presence like a dark cloud blotting out the sun.

She tried to focus, but her vision blurred, her breathing ragged and strained. The fear, the sheer oppressive weight of Winter's presence, pressed down on her like a vice. The blood demon's form glowed with power, his blood cloud swirling around him, regenerating his body, his armor. It was as if the sky itself bent to his will.

Yuui felt a tremor of terror deep within her." How could I defeat something so powerful, something that claimed to transcend even gods?"

But as her vision wavered, something caught her eye—a flicker in the storm of red and white before her. In the fog of her fear, the contrast between Winter's crimson blood cloud and the bright purity of her own energy began to sharpen in her mind. A strange clarity came through the haze of exhaustion, and suddenly, Yuui noticed something.

"Wait…"

Her breathing steadied for a moment, her senses honing in on a single detail. The blood cloud above Winter, swirling with ominous power, was… smaller. It wasn't as thick, not as massive as before.

Yuui blinked through the fog of her thoughts, her mind trying to process what she was seeing. "His blood cloud is shrinking," she realized, her heart skipping a beat. The swirling mass of blood was no longer as expansive as when the battle had first begun.

She glanced down, her eyes focusing on the ground beneath her feet. Blood pooled in dark, thick puddles across the battlefield, the remains of her fallen comrades, their essence still tied to Winter's power. But something was wrong. The blood… it wasn't moving.

"He's not collecting it," she thought, a flicker of hope stirring within her.

The blood that coated the ground, the blood that had fueled Winter's monstrous power, lay still and untouched. For the first time since the battle had begun, it wasn't rising to his command. It wasn't swirling into the blood cloud, nor was it feeding into his body.

Yuui's mind raced as the pieces started to fall into place.

"He can't control the blood on the ground and the blood in his suit at the same time," she thought, her eyes widening with realization. The truth hit her like a bolt of lightning. "He can't defend and attack at the same time!"

Her heart pounded in her chest, adrenaline surging through her veins. That was it. Winter's monstrous power, his terrifying presence—it wasn't limitless. His control was stretched. While he could manipulate the blood cloud above him to regenerate, and use his blood armor to defend himself, he couldn't do everything at once.

He was vulnerable.

Yuui's hands clenched into fists, the energy crackling around her, responding to the surge of hope rising within her. If he couldn't defend and attack at the same time, then there was an opening—a moment where he would have to choose, and that would be her chance.

Her fear began to melt away, replaced by a sharp, focused determination. This wasn't over. Not yet.

Yuui straightened, her energy suit glowing brighter as she readied herself. Winter hovered above, his blood demon form still imposing, but now, she could see the cracks in his power. The blood on the ground wasn't his to command. He was leaving it behind, choosing his armor over the blood cloud.

And that meant one thing—he could be defeated.

Yuui's energy crackled through the air as she raised her hands, gathering the life force into both palms. Her body glowed with the brilliance of pure, untarnished energy, the same light that had fueled her transformation moments ago. Now, it pulsed through her like a current, swirling and collecting into two orbs—one in each hand.

The orbs grew brighter, spinning faster as Yuui fed them her resolve, her determination. Her heart pounded in her chest, the weight of her realization still fresh in her mind:" He can't defend and attack at the same time."

This was her chance.

Winter, still hovering in the air above, watched her coldly. His crimson eyes narrowed, studying her movements. Despite the damage he had taken, his presence was still terrifying, his blood armor gleaming ominously. But something had changed. There was a flicker of something different in his gaze—curiosity.

"The smell of confidence…" Winter's voice rumbled, low and dark. His lips curled into a slight, cold smile. "I like it."

His words dripped with amusement, but there was no fear behind them. He tilted his head slightly, his eyes glancing upward toward the shrinking blood cloud above him. His gaze lingered on it for a moment, as if he were checking its strength, calculating how long it would last.

"Not yet."

Winter's thoughts raced behind his blood-red eyes. He could sense the battle shifting, could feel Yuui's rising power. His blood cloud was shrinking, his resources dwindling.

Slowly, Winter's gaze shifted from the blood cloud to the battlefield below. His allies—his followers—stood scattered across the battlefield, their eyes watching the fight with a mixture of awe and fear. They had fought for him, bled for him, trusted him with their lives.

Winter's eyes flickered with a passing thought.

Should I sacrifice them?

The thought passed through him like a whisper, cold and indifferent. He could drain them, consume their blood, and fuel his power further. Their lives would extend his defenses, reinforce his armor, and keep him standing longer. After all, they were nothing more than pawns—tools to be used when necessary.

But the thought quickly dissipated.

"Nah…" Winter muttered under his breath.

"It will only buy me some time", he reasoned, the spark of amusement in his eyes fading into something colder, more calculating.

"A few more moments of life for my defenses—but nothing more."

He clenched his fists, his blood armor tightening around him. Sacrificing his allies would delay the inevitable, but it wouldn't solve the real problem. Yuui was growing stronger, her attacks more precise, her power more focused. Even with the extra life span from their blood, he would still be on the defensive—and he wasn't here to stall.

Winter's gaze shifted back to Yuui, his expression hardening.

"I need something to win", he thought, "not to stall."

His smile disappeared completely as he took in the scene before him. Yuui's energy orbs crackled with raw power, her resolve clear and unwavering. She was no longer the terrified warrior from moments before. She was something else now—something much more dangerous.

Winter could feel it in the air, the shift in the battle. She wasn't going to stop, and she wasn't going to falter. The next move had to be his, and it had to be decisive.

As the blood demon floated above, his mind raced for the answer he needed to end this fight—not with delay, but with finality. He would have to be smarter, more ruthless than ever before. There would be no more stalling.

Victory or nothing.